Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) Given Average Rating of "Hold" by Brokerages

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ has received an average recommendation of "Hold" from the six research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $63.00.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on CNQ shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Tudor Pickering cut Canadian Natural Resources from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Raymond James reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th.

Institutional Trading of Canadian Natural Resources

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CNQ. FMR LLC lifted its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 92,550,104 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $2,857,337,000 after purchasing an additional 7,372,718 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 6,902.0% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,652,855 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $112,763,000 after acquiring an additional 3,600,686 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 73.3% during the 3rd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 7,834,264 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $260,116,000 after acquiring an additional 3,312,442 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 31.6% during the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 13,433,797 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $414,223,000 after acquiring an additional 3,224,548 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 63.5% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 8,233,388 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $273,417,000 after acquiring an additional 3,198,007 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.03% of the company's stock.

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Canadian Natural Resources Stock Performance

Canadian Natural Resources stock traded down $0.55 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $28.70. 5,621,686 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,045,783. Canadian Natural Resources has a 12 month low of $25.62 and a 12 month high of $41.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $30.34 and a 200 day moving average of $32.54. The firm has a market cap of $60.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.14 and a beta of 1.48.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be issued a $0.4117 dividend. This is a boost from Canadian Natural Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. This represents a $1.65 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.74%. Canadian Natural Resources's dividend payout ratio is 77.88%.

About Canadian Natural Resources

Canadian Natural Resources Limited acquires, explores for, develops, produces, markets, and sells crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids (NGLs). The company offers light and medium crude oil, primary heavy crude oil, Pelican Lake heavy crude oil, bitumen (thermal oil), and synthetic crude oil (SCO).